Want an environmentally friendly TV? Buy a Tree-V instead
We’re all trying to be more environmentally friendly these days aren’t we? Recycling more, taking public transport, lower emission vehicles, energy saving light bulbs, they’re all things you can easily do to help save the planet. And now you can even be green while watching TV, by buying a wooden television set.
A Swedish manufacturer called Swedx, have an exclusive range of televisions which they call Tree-Vs. That name is very clever, but also a bit annoying. I’ve personally never heard of them, but with Dixons and Currys, two of the biggest electronics retailers in the UK, starting to stock them this Christmas, they could be about to become household names, as well as items.
The Tree-V range of televisions are built from natural ash, sapele or beech wood from sustainable forest sources. The 19 inch models are going to cost £350, and be available in stores and online before Christmas.
The televisions have LCD screens built in to the wooden surround, are High Definition-ready, and have built-in Freeview tuners, and HDMI, Component, SCART, PC and AV inputs.
DeVere Forster of Dixons.co.uk explained the reasons his company are starting to stock the item:
“We’re delighted to be the exclusive stockist of the Tree-Vs from Swedx. They are high specification televisions, with the added advantage of being constructed within frames from all-natural, renewable, sustainable, recyclable resources. Owning a Tree-V is a great way of making a small contribution to planet Earth while watching it on the telly at the same time.”
That’s all well and good, and I suppose these are better for the environment than the plastic monstrosities most people have sitting in their front rooms BUT, as well as looking like something from the 1950s, surely most of the environment sapping parts of a television are inside, and are going to be exactly the same on these as in a more traditional television.
Then there is the little matter of electricity, which without the use of, you wouldn’t be able to watch any television, be it a wooden eco gimmick, or a cheap plastic piece of crap. Unless someone starts to manufacture a range of wind up televisions, then I can’t really see the point of fixing a tiny part of the problem such as the material the frame your television is made of.
It really ends up being just a combination of a gimmick that people with more money than sense can boast to their friends about, and a design sensibility which the Ikea generation of trendies can use to make their house look nicer. I’ll pass thanks.
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November 21st, 2007
A bit embarassing really. But then having any TV in you house isn’t exactly a mark of class either.